Title / object name The order of the bath
| Maker | Role | Date |
| Adkin, Leslie | photographer | 1917 |
Medium Summary black and white glass negative
Materials photographic gelatin, sheet glass, silver, photographic plates
Format half plate (1/2)
Classification gelatin dry plate negatives, black-and-white negatives
Technique black-and-white photography
Registration Number B.022664
Credit LineGift of G. L. Adkin family estate, 1964
Leslie Adkin’s warm and gentle photograph of his wife and daughter has become a classic of family photography.
Leslie Adkin
Adkin farmed near Levin and was also a self-taught scholar, with interests ranging over geology, archaeology, botany, and Maori history.He applied the same thoroughness and attention to detailwhen recording his personal life as he didto photographing his other interests. Adkin rarely took a literal snap-shot, even though his family photographs seem to epitomise the snapshot craze that developed from the turn of the century. The composition of this photograph and the way Maud holds the facecloth just out of Nancy’s reach suggest a moment carefully constructed for the camera.